Song No. 8 — Serenata do Adeus | Vinícius de Moraes (1958)

The wistful Serenata do Adeus was introduced in 1958 by Elizeth Cardoso on her album Canção do Amor Demais (which is widely considered as the first bossa nova album due to João Gilberto’s guitar play on two of the songs). Serenata do Adeus, rather a poem set to music than a pop song in the proper sense, soon gained lasting popularity as a perfect exercise for sophisticated interpretations.

In the year of the song’s introduction four of the six single versions were released, as a-side by Roberto Luna and Morgana and as b-side by Solon Sales and Agnaldo Rayol, followed by Silvio Caldas the next year and Banda do Corpo de Bombeiros do Estado da Guanabara in 1962. Of these, Roberto Luna’s evocative interpretation, arranged by Henrique Simonetti, stands out as one of the finest recordings of Serenata do Adeus while Morgana’s rendition, arranged by Hervé Cordovil and re-recorded later that year with Osmar Milani’s orchestra on her debut album Esta é Morgana, was the only one to enjoy commercial success, scoring a number one hit and ranking at no. 78 of the Hot 100 of 1958.

The next year, soprano Lenita Bruno included a very restrained perfomance, arranged by her husband Léo Peracchi, on her critically acclaimed album Por Toda Minha Vida – Música: Antônio Carlos Jobim – Poesia: Vinícius de Moraes while in 1962, Edmundo Peruzzi delivered one of the few versions of the song recorded in a more vibrant rhythm.

In 1963, Elza Laranjeira elaborated her version, inimitably sung by her in two voices over an almost ethereous arrangement by Waldemiro Lemke, after rehearsing the ballad with the composer himself for her album A Música de Jobim e Vinícius.

Elizeth Cardoso re-recorded Serenata do Adeus again in 1968 in an captivating version performed a cappella at her legendary concert with Zimbo Trio, Jacob de Bandolim and Época de Ouro at Teatro João Caetano.

After Serenata do Adeus had mostly been recorded with either orchestral backings or as a traditional serenade, Geraldo Vespar and Taiguara paved the way for more contemporary interpretations such as Baden Powell’s introverted renditions in the seventies. Not least because of the song’s ageless ability for leaving room for interpretations of many kinds, Serenata do Adeus is continuously recorded with an estimated one hundred versions to this day.